Шмот 18:7 Комментарий: Rashi, Chizkuni, Da'at Zekenim & Sforno

ויצא משה AND MOSES WENT OUT — Great honour, indeed, did Jethro receive at that moment, for as soon as Moses went out to Jethro, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu went out, and who was it that saw these go out and would not himself go out? (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayigash 7)

וישתחו וישק לו, “he prostrated himself and kissed him;” according to Rashi it is not clear who prostrated himself before whom; if we are to assume that the Torah also referred to Yitro by the honorary title of איש, seeing that we have read in Exodus 2,21: ויאל משה לשבת את האיש, Moses agreed to make his home with the man,” we would have to counter that the Torah refers to Moses as being extremely modest when writing: והאיש משה עניו מאד, “the man known as ‘Moses,’ was very modest and humble, more so than any other איש;” (Numbers 12,3) so that we are faced here with a dilemma; we must therefore assume that the reason that the Torah compliments Moses in Numbers 12,3 by adding these additional words, is to show that he, the king, prostrated himself before his father-in-law, and that he was even more modest than Yitro.

וישתחו, “he prostrated himself;” our author is in two minds about who is the subject in this verse, i.e. who prostrated himself to whom.? It is reasonable to assume that word איש in the verse refers to Moses. After all, Moses had been referred to in Deuteronomy 32,1 as איש האלוהים, “the man of G–d.” On the other hand, the Torah describes Yitro also as איש, already in Exodus 2,21 when it tells us that Moses agreed to take up residence in his father-in-law’s house. Some scholars hold that we must draw comparisons only when the word in question is exactly the same, not when there is a prefix or suffix appended. The word: האיש in Exodus 2,21, therefore does not refer to the same man as the one in Deuteronomy we have quoted. In addition we find that the attribute איש is used for Moses, as directly next to his name either after or in front, (as in Numbers 12,3,) whereas this is not so with Yitro. It is clear that this interpretation is based on the school that holds that R’uel was the father of Yitro. According to that school of thought, Exodus 2,21 stating: “he gave his daughter Tzipporah to Moses as a wife,” is another example of grandfathers being considered as fathers.

וישתחו וישק לו AND HE PROSTRATED HIMSELF AND KISSED HIM — From the wording of this statement I do not know who prostrated himself to whom! But when it states in the next words: איש לרעהו, “a man to his fellow”, it becomes quite evident; for which of the two is called by the appellation איש, “man”? — This was Moses, as it is said, (Numbers 12:3) “And the man, Moses”. (Thus it was the man (איש) Moses, who bowed down to his fellow (Mekhilta).